Tag Archives: Hiking

California Stream Orchid (Epipactis gigantea)

Posted on April 23, 2014 by Jack Elliott

A California stream orchid growing beneath a large boulder beside a seep in an otherwise dry creek feeding into a seasonal tributary of the Santa Ynez River. I think that all but the keenest, most experienced observers would never suspect … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged Epipactis gigantea, Hiking, iPhonography, Los Padres National Forest, Nature, Orchids, Photos, Plants, Santa Ynez Mountains, wildflowers, Writing | 11 Comments

Teardrop, Santa Ynez Mountains

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Jack Elliott

Bare bunned at Teardrop. Teardrop was named for its shape. It’s a small swimming hole, a large bathtub, bored out of sandstone bedrock visually and audibly accented by a waterfall dropping into its emerald water. Like many swimming holes, its … Continue reading →

Posted in Santa Barbara County | Tagged Creeks, Hiking, Hiking (2), iPhonography, Nature, Photos, Santa Ynez Mountains, Swimming Holes, Teardrop, Writing | 13 Comments

Indian Wells Canyon, Southern Sierra

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Jack Elliott

A view of the ridgeline running down from Owens Peak, which was named by Major General John C. Fremont after Richard Owens, a captain who served in his California Battalion during the Mexican-American War. During the war Fremont captured the … Continue reading →

Posted in Kern County | Tagged Hiking, History, Indian Wells, iPhonography, Landscapes, Nature, Outdoors, Photos, Southern Sierra, Travel, wildflowers | 4 Comments

Fossil Falls, A Glacial Relic of the Pleistocene

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Jack Elliott

David Stillman scrambling up familiar territory, through the gullet of Fossil Falls and over the slick, water polished basalt. Standing in the arid Owens Valley of California, beside an ancient dry riverbed that can barely be discerned amid cragged lava … Continue reading →

Posted in Inyo County | Tagged Fossil Falls, Hiking, History, Indians, Native Americans, Nature, Owens River, Petroglyphs, Rock Art, Volcanoes, waterfalls | 4 Comments

Sespe Hot Springs From Piedra Blanca

Posted on April 4, 2014 by Jack Elliott

Fossilized oak leaf found along the Sespe Trail. Note the veins and serrated edges. A Late, Hot Start I didn’t start walking from Piedra Blanca Trailhead until a few ticks before ten in the morning, at least four hours later … Continue reading →